Experts Ponder Whether Too Much Exercise Can Compromise Cardiovascular Health and Longevity.

Abstract

Physical activity was once a requirement for survival, but now many people must set aside time or make a conscious effort to incorporate it into their day, which can often be filled with hours spent in sedentary jobs and long commutes. In many cases, people need to boost physical activity levels to improve their health, but studies also are indicating that highly active patients may face health risks for taking exercise to extremes. “We need to examine the possibility that exercise is medicine and you can possibly overdose,” said Paul D. Thompson, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Hartford Hospital Physical activity guidelines recommend that adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise weekly. Individuals performing more than the lowest recommended dose of moderate-intensity physical activity experience added benefits, but doses >100 minutes a day do not seem to be associated with further reductions in mortality rates. A similar trend applies to more intense physical activity. “The benefits of vigorous activity are met at low doses and one does not get a lot of additional benefit when the amount of vigorous physical activity is increased much above 8 …